On holiday Monday, 70 sun-soaked fundraisers took to the streets and walked the 10 miles from the Billy McNeill statue at the bottom of the Celtic Way, to the newly erected statue of Cesar in his hometown of Bellshill.

Supporters of Celtic FC Foundation and the Billy McNeill Commemoration Charity paid tribute to the legendary Celtic captain by raising a net total in excess of £12,000, which will be split equally between the two charities.

Billy’s wife, Liz McNeill, joined the group, which contained a few members of the family, to wish them well and kick the event off at 10am.

The group began their walk along London Road and headed for the first stop – the memorial dedicated to Celtic’s Founding Fathers in Dalbeth Cemetery.

Further along the route, the group then honoured another Celtic great with a pause at the Jimmy Johnstone Memorial Garden in Viewpark, before popping into Cesar’s Bar in Bellshill at their penultimate stop, ahead of finally reaching the new statue of Cesar at Bellshill Cross.

The first group of walkers to finish in blazing sunshine, more akin to the Mediterranean than the West of Scotland, then cheered on the rest of the participants as they crossed the finish line, with everyone welcomed with some much-needed complimentary refreshments supplied by Mooney’s Bar.

Celtic FC Foundation Chief Executive, Tony Hamilton, said: “Thank you to everyone who took part in Monday’s walk and to all of those who sponsored them along the way.

“It was a wonderful day in tribute to our greatest ever captain and it was an honour to participate alongside so many supporters of the Foundation, and of course, the McNeill family and our friends at the Billy McNeill Commemoration Charity.

“The support we’ve had for initiatives like this throughout the season has been sensational and that’s testament, yet again, to the generosity and compassion of the Celtic Family."

Eddie Lynas, Chairman of the Billy McNeill Commemoration Charity added: “We would like to thank Celtic FC Foundation and everyone who has supported the event and given up their time for two fantastic charities. We hope everyone enjoyed their day.”

The Foundation would like to thank all of those who made the event possible, including the Billy McNeill Commemoration Charity, St. John the Baptist Church, Cesar’s Bar, Mooney’s Bar and, of course, all of the wonderful participants and everyone who has supported them.

Thank you for making a difference.

‘In The Footsteps Of Cesar’ raises over £12,000